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HomeMy WebLinkAboutres2014-046 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2014-224 B CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to: 6/9/2014 9/16/2014 Council- Ori•inator; Intro Division Head: 9/30/2014 Council De.t.Head: �--w :� ) 'q•1 • Prosecutor: , P r d , / Purchasin•/Bud:et: Executive: TITLE OF DOCUMENT: Resoluton to accept petition and poll book and order election for Drayton W.I.D. ATTACHMENTS: SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing? ( ) Yes ( ) NO SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date: SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public hearing,you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate. Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.) Resolution accepting the petition and poll book,establishing boundaries,and ordering an election to determine formation of a proposed irrigation district in Whatcom County to be known as the Drayton Watershed Improvement District. Per 87.03 RCW,this resolution orders an election to determine if an irrigation district(to be known as the Drayton Watershed Improvement District)will be formed,sets the boundaries for the district,and approves the election process to be followed.At the hearing,council will receive evidence and may adjourn the hearing from time to time as necessary to gather additional information,not to exceed four weeks in all. After the hearing,the council will establish and define the boundaries of the district in order to"best reclaim the lands involved". Defining the boundaries is the council's main function in the process. The council must leave it to the voters to decide whether the district will be formed. The council can't modify the boundaries to exempt any territory already included in the boundaries if that territory is"susceptible of irrigation by the same system of works applicable to other lands in such proposed district and for which a water supply is available." Lands that will not benefit from inclusion in the district may be exempted. Property may be added to the district boundaries if it is shown that it will benefit from being included in the district. COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION: 9/16/2014: Held to 9/30/14, written record open until 4:30 p.m. on 9/25/14 9/30/2014: Council approved 6-1, Brenner opposed, Res. 2014-046 Related County Contract#: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution Number: Res. 2014-046 Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing on the County's website at: www.co.whatcom.wa.us/council. SPONSORED BY: CONSENT PROPOSED BY: CITIZEN INTRODUCED: SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 RESOLUTION NO. 2014-046 ACCEPTING PETITION AND POLL BOOK, ESTABLISHING BOUNDARIES, AND ORDERING AN ELECTION TO DETERMINE FORMATION OF A PROPOSED IRRIGATION DISTRICT IN WHATCOM COUNTY TO BE KNOWN AS THE DRAYTON WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT WHEREAS, on July 23, 2014, a petition was filed with the Whatcom County Council Office requesting that necessary steps be taken to organize an irrigation district in Whatcom County to be known as the Drayton Watershed Improvement District; and WHEREAS, the petition met the requirements for a complete petition as outlined in State law; and WHEREAS, on August 5, 2014, the Whatcom County Council was officially notified that the petition had been filed and the required bond in a sum double the amount of the estimated cost of forming the proposed district had been received; and WHEREAS, the Council's role in the district formation process is to formally accept the petition and bond, establish the boundaries of the proposed district, establish the district's name, and call for an election of the property owners residing within the proposed district boundaries to determine whether the district shall be formed and who shall serve on the district's board of directors. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Whatcom County Council that the proposed irrigation district shall be known as the Drayton Watershed Improvement District. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the petition requesting the organization of the Drayton Watershed Improvement District is hereby accepted as presented. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the poll book, as presented, is hereby accepted and certified as being as accurate as possible using the most current data available from the Whatcom County Assessor's Office. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the boundaries of the proposed district shall be as set forth in Exhibit A to this resolution. BE IT !=ALLY RESOLVED that an election shall be set and carried out in the manner det1iled\i,�rV bt 'f 'to this resolution and an election date of October 27, 2014, is hereby set. \.\\ RE •rijKda=1,41 day of September , 2014. At T° CO WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL " r • WHATCOM COUNTY WASHINGTON DariA 1rnwri-)"aiii `Grerk 9t the Council Carl Weimer, Council Chair A•PRO i p AS 111,11 k+‘' ■ r_. . T ti Ana Civ Deputy •rosecl er EXHIBIT A (DRAYTON WATERSHED IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT) A description of the lands to be included in the operation of the district, in legal subdivisions or fractions thereof, is as follows: Township 40 North, Range 1 East, Willamette Meridian (WM) Section 11 - SE1/4 Section 12 - NE1/4 except N 689' of NE1/4NE'/a, SW1/aNW1/aNE'/a, W12SW'/4NE14, and E'/2E1/2E1/2NE'/4NW'/4NE1/4 Section 13 - excepting W'/2SW1/4 and N3/4NW1/4 and N1/2NW1/4NE1/4 Section 14 - N'/2NE1/4, E'/2NE1/4NW1/4 Section 24 - excepting W1/2W1/2 and SE'/4SW1/4 and S'/25E1/4 Section 25 - excepting W'/zNW'/a and N1/2NE'/4NW1/4 and NW'/aNE'/a and W'/2 N E'/a N E 1/a Section 34 - N1/2 Section 35 - S1/2 N1/2, E1/2SE1/4 Section 36 - N'/z N W'/a, W'/2S W'/a NW N'/2 NF'/a, SF NF Township 40 North, Range 2 East, Willamette Meridian (WM) Section 7 - S'/NW'/a, S'/2NE'/a, SW'/a, SE'/a Section 8 - excepting W'/2NW1/4 Section 9 - excepting E'/2NE'/4 Section 16 - excepting E'/2NE'/4NE' Sections 17 - 20 Section 21 - excepting E'/2SE1/4 Section 28 - N1/2 excepting E'/2NE1/4 Section 29 - N1/2 Section 30 - excepting SE'/4SE1/4 Section 31 - W1/2, SW'/aSE'/a Township 39 North, Range 2 East, Willamette Meridian (WM) Section 4 - W'/2W'/z Section 5 - SW'/aNW'/a, SW'/aSW'/a, W900 FT OF N60 ACRES SW'/a, N50 ACRES OF S100 ACRES SW'/a LESS PETERSON 10 ACRES, S3/4SE1/4NE1/4 LYING SOUTH OF DITCH, TRACT DESCRIBED AF 2110601404, LOT D HAPPY ACRES SHORT PLAT, E'/zSE'/a, NW'/aSE'/a, NW'/aSW'/aSE'/a EXCEPTING Lot 1 HEINRICHS SHORT PLAT Section 6 - all parcels east of I-5 excepting NE'/aNE'/a and E'/2NW1/4NE1/4 Excepting from all of the above described parcels the following: • All lands within the City of Ferndale; • All parcels less than four and one-half acres in size; • All tax-exempt parcels; • All parcels outside of Ag Open Space tax classification. • Parcels split by the legal description where the majority of the acres are outside the Legal Description for the district. EXHIBIT B THE ELECTION PROCESS THE ELECTION: The County Council is responsible for conducting the district's formation election in a manner that is similar to the way future elections for directors of the district will be conducted. Voting will take place by mail. An election day of October 27, 2014, has been selected and ballots must be returned to the Council Office or postmarked by that date to be counted toward the election. THE BALLOT: A local printing company will be used to print the ballots, ballot envelopes, and instructions indicating how joint ownership and community property votes are cast as well, as a request to forward the ballot to the property owner if different from the person who receives it. Voting rights shall be allocated as follows: Two votes for each five acres of assessable land or fraction thereof. Ballots will be coded to indicate how many votes each ballot is worth. The ballot shall contain the following language: "Irrigation District - YES" "Irrigation District - NO" The names of persons to be voted for as directors of the district. To be counted in this election, ballots must conform to these requirements: 1. Voted ballots must be sealed and placed in a ballot envelope (provided) and the ballot envelope must be sealed in a return certification envelope (provided). The certification envelope will contain a "voter's certification" and a "witness certification" on the back of the envelope as follows: Voter's Certification I certify as true, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that I am a landowner within the proposed district who is 18 years or more of age, a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State of Washington, and hold title or evidence of title to assessable land in the proposed district. If the landowner is a corporation, I certify as true, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that I am a duly authorized agent for the purpose of voting on this election by the corporation. Signature (Landowner/Voter) Print Name (Landowner/Voter) City &State where signed ... ..... Date Signed Witness Certification I certify as true, under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Washington, that I am acquainted with the above voter and the voter's signature above was affixed in my presence. Signature (Witness) Print Name (Witness) City &State where signed Date 2. Both the "voter's certification" and the "witness certification" must completed and signed as indicated. Unsigned and/or unwitnessed ballots will not be counted. 3. Ballots must be hand delivered to the Council Office prior to 4 p.m. on October 27, 2014; or mailed to the Clerk of the Council, postmarked no later than midnight on October 27, 2014, and received by the Clerk of the Council within five days of that date. Ballots will be kept unopened and secure under the responsibility of the Clerk of the Council until the time in which ballots may be received is closed. The Council appoints the Clerk of the Council and assigned staff, with assistance from the Whatcom County Auditor as available, to proceed at once to determine whether the voters submitting ballots are qualified to vote and to count and tally the votes of those determined to be qualified. The Whatcom County Council will meet on November 10, 2014, to canvass the returns. If it appears that at least two-thirds of all votes cast are in favor of the district, the Council shall by order declare the district duly organized and shall declare the qualified persons receiving the highest number of votes to be duly elected directors and shall cause a certified copy of the order to be filed for record in the offices of the County Auditor and Assessor.